Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing’s Cooper Webb took home a runner-up finish despite challenging conditions yesterday at Round 3 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross 450SX Championship in San Diego, California. Eli Tomac put in another championship ride, charging his way back to ninth to salvage points after getting caught up in a crash early in the race. Rookie Justin Cooper got a flying start and grabbed the holeshot, but unfortunately, he also went down at the beginning of the race and fought his way back to 12th in the tricky conditions at the Snapdragon Stadium.
Riders and the teams were once again presented with challenging conditions as rain arrived at the start of the first qualifying session and fell harder during the afternoon, canceling the second session. Webb qualified ninth and finished third in his heat race. The rain returned for the main event, but the North Carolina rider got a good start in the top five and was fourth on the second lap. Before the halfway mark, he advanced to the runner-up spot and had the leader in his sights. Webb kept pushing but went on to secure a second-place finish and leave San Diego in a three-way tie for fourth, trailing the leader by 11 points.
On the heels of his strong second-place finish last weekend in punishing conditions in San Francisco, Tomac got off to a great start in San Diego. He led the way for the 450 team, qualifying second, and went on to win his heat race. The Colorado rider didn’t get the start he was looking for in the main event and found himself ninth. Then, unfortunately, he came together with another rider and rejoined in 20th. Undeterred, Tomac fought his way back to a ninth-place finish despite the challenging conditions and scored valuable points in the hotly contested 450SX title fight. He leaves the third round of the championship seventh in the point standings and 12 points behind the leader.
Cooper continues to make progress in his first full season in the premier class. He had a solid qualifying in eighth place and a good start in his heat race but was shuffled back early and finished sixth. The New Yorker came out swinging in the main event and grabbed the holeshot. In the thick of a multi-rider battle up front, he got shuffled to fourth and then, unfortunately crashed on the second lap and found himself 19th. Cooper put his head down and made his way to 14th despite the worsening conditions.
The Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing team returns to Angel Stadium next weekend for Round 4 of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross Championship and the SuperMotocross World Series in Anaheim, California, on January 27.
Jeremy Coker – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing 450 Team Manager
“It’s been a crazy first three rounds of the season. Cooper rode great and finished second. Eli put in one hell of a ride to come from the back to ninth, and Justin had some great starts and the holeshot. We’re going to keep working and keep fighting for this championship. We look forward to Anaheim 2 and hopefully dry conditions after these two tough rounds in the mud.”
Cooper Webb – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #2
“Round 3 in San Diego was an up-and-down day. The weather was a little bit wet for us again, and qualifying didn’t go great. In the heat race, I got a terrible start but actually rode really well. The main event overall was a good race. I got a pretty good start around fourth, made some good passes, and got into second. I was trailing AP (Aaron Plessinger), made a good charge, and got close there. It was kind of a weird ending, you know, with the lapper situation. It was definitely interesting, but we were all dealing with it. It sucks to be that close and not get our first win with the team, but AP is one of my good friends. So, as mad as I am right now, I am stoked for him. It’s good to get some points back and have some momentum rolling. I’m looking forward to Round 4 and hopefully get our first win of the year.”
Eli Tomac – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #3
“It was a tough weekend. I got tangled up with (Christian) Craig down a rhythm section, and that set me way back early in the race. I had a decent recovery, though, and I look forward to racing on a dry surface sooner rather than later.”
Justin Cooper – Monster Energy Yamaha Star Racing #32
“I had two pretty good starts tonight. In the heat race, I got bumped around in the first rhythm and ended up sixth. In the main event, we ripped a really good start and got the holeshot. I couldn’t be more happy about that. I’m just a little bit bummed we went down on Lap 2. I got a little bit cross-rutted and a little bit off balance and went into the hay bales. So, that kind of did it for me. I was on the plywood, and because it was so early in the race, I went back to 20th. I think I was in a good spot to go with that lead pack. I’m not saying I would’ve beaten them, but I just wanted to be there in the fight, and that’s where I was. If we could’ve stayed up in that position, I think we could’ve gone away with those guys. We’ll move on to next weekend and not get too down about it and try to get another great start.”
